Giants bounced back with strong win over Rams 102 - 91

In Christchurch, Canterbury suffered their third straight defeat going down to the Mike Pero Nelson Giants who would have been hurting from their effort the night before in the loss to the Sharks.

Finn Delany seems to like playing at Cowles stadium, as he backed up his 40 point haul last season to have 30 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Jerry Evans also chipped in with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Nelson would lead by as many as 24 points, before a late flurry from the home side in the fourth closed the gap to 11. It was going to be a tough game for the Rams who were without point guard, Xavier Thames, for the week. Thames did have a replacement in former Giant, Raymond Cowels, who did score a team high 19 points.

Michael Karena was the next best with 17 points off the bench, and Winston Shepard had 15, but was kept to 4-for-12 from the field.

The Giants move to second place at 11-3, and are tightly chasing the tails of the first placed Cigna Saints who go to 12-2 after a 113-93 win over the Go Media Jets in Whanganui.